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ath10k firmware
The ath10k firmware images are available from linux-firmware.git which all common Linux distributions should install by default. Latest firmware images can be downloaded from ath10k-firmware.git from which they get eventually pushed to linux-firmware.git.
Overview
| Hardware | Firmware major version/branch | Latest firmware revision | Intended use | Kernel version required* | Git commit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QCA988X | main | link | STA | 3.11 | 5e3dd157d7e7 |
| QCA988X | 10.1 | link | AP | 3.13 | 8acd3c97ff9e |
| QCA988X | 10.2 | link | AP | 3.18 | 24c88f7807fb |
| QCA988X | 10.2.4 | link | AP | 4.0 | 4a16fbec1cd0 |
| QCA6164/QCA6174 | wmi-tlv | link | AP/STA | 4.0 | d63955b33b3b, ca996ec56608 |
* Note: It is possible to use newer ath10k driver on an older kernel with backports project: https://backports.wiki.kernel.org
Update firmware
First download the firmware image from ath10k-firmware.git:
https://github.com/kvalo/ath10k-firmware/tree/master/
In this example we use firmware-2.bin_10.1.467.2-1 from 10.1 directory. Then just copy that file as firmware-2.bin to the ath10k firmware directory:
cp firmware-2.bin_10.1.467.2-1 /lib/firmware/ath10k/QCA988X/hw2.0/firmware-2.bin
Then reload ath10k (or restart the system) and the new firmware is in use.
Note: In some distributions the firmware location can be different than /lib/firmware.
Firmware branches
ath10k firmware has different branches, they are described below.
main branch
Firmware versions 999.999.0.x.
Supports AP mode, STA mode, Ad-Hoc and P2P. But AP mode is not that well tested, especially problems with DFS.
10.x branch
Firmware versions 10.x.y.
Branch focusing on AP mode. Supports DFS. STA mode works but not well tested. No Ad-Hoc or P2P support.
Firmware API versions
Because firmware changes between versions we have introduced firmware API concept to ath10k. This makes it possible to support different versions of ath10k.
Firmware API 1
The first version. Firmware images are in separate files: firmware.bin and otp.bin. There's no FW IE support. Deprecated since March 2014.
Firmware API 2
Embedding both firmware and otp images into same file firmware-2.bin. Firmware meta data provided through FW IE. Added in commit 1a222435a dated Sep 27 2013, for Linux 3.13.
